Tomato and White Bean Soup With Lots of Garlic Recipe (2024)

Here’s how you can take this soup from so-so to delicious: To your garlic and oil mixture add your favorite blend of warm spices. I used approximately 1/4 of each of the following: ground coriander, ground fennel, chili flakes and ground sumac, plus lots of black pepper. After the step with the immersion blender, I added about 2Tbs of pepper jelly, 2 Tbs of tomato paste and about a half cup coconut milk (use the rest of the can to drizzle over when serving, in place of cream). Yum!

I used a dash of cinnamon, cayenne, herbes de Provence, oregano, and blended parmesan cheese. Next time I'll cook it with a carrot to balance the tartness (an Italian trick). This time I added some sugar.

In a hurry I dumped two cans of white beans into the tomato depths and followed the recipe exactly (including a massive amount of irregular garlic). When I put the cans in recycling I noticed they were garbanzos, not cannellini (Progresso labels look alike). I enjoyed my hummus-tomato soup immensely.

Using undrained beans gave the dish a salty, funky, unappealing flavor that ruined the soup. I’d recommend that cooks rinse and drain the beans. Very disappointed.

As always, amused by all the additions and changes that "adapt" this recipe into something dramatically different. I was out of all fresh food (because of shopping-laziness) and needed something with vegetables. Had just cooked some giant white beans. Only adaptation I made was putting the peeled garlic cloves -- a whole head's worth -- into a zipper plastic bag A plastic -headed mallet made it easy and fun to smash the cloves into submission. Filling and healthy! (used soy milk to finish.)

Was very good, quick and easy. I used fire roasted crushed canned tomatoes, which gave mine a nice smokey flavor. Agree with the other posters that high quality canned tomatoes is a must here.

I'm inclined to roast a whole head of garlic and add that to this soup.

This was way delish, but required some adaptation. I used 2 cans of beans & 2 of tomato. As I was preparing the garlic (I used regular & black), I had the thought to add tomato paste. I should have. I would have created a richer flavor. But I did add the very last of our basil & 1/4 cup of marsala & parmesan along with the veg broth, 1/2 & 1/2. That created much more depth. I would add another 14-oz can of tomatoes next time to bring the tomato flavor forward. Served w/ parmesan tuiles. Yum.

I make this soup with a chopped carrot, chopped onion, and chopped stalk of celery. I also sauté about a tablespoon of finely minced anchovy and Italian parsley just after the garlic and before I add the tomato. I use either chicken or vegetable broth. Very good.

You cannot go wrong with white beans and garlic. Adding tomatoes and puréeing into a silky bisque is lovely. Use best quality canned tomatoes, season well, add a generous drizzle of cream, and finish with cracked pepper and Maldon sea salt.

A soup even the children enjoyed! Added pesto and lemon at the end. Served with fresh sourdough bread.

Cooked as written. Thought it was great. Kinda funny the recipe asks you to peel the garlic, then smash it. Cut the root end, place flat side of knife on the clove, strike with fist. Viola, garlic smashed and peeled.

Made as directed. I chose the water option instead of broth and added just a bit of heavy cream towards the very end of blending, as suggested at the thinning stage. Served with chunks of French bread for lunch.Later, when I said we were having pizza for dinner, the family said, “Pizza, and more soup!”. A definite hit and no one would ever guess how easy it was to make.

Simmered with Parmesan rinds and added a dash of balsamic and hot sauce when serving.

Not a five star soup as written. I followed recipe to the letter and it was bland, with no specific taste coming through. I appreciate the modifications that people add to notes so I know what to try next time. I am thinking I need to just read the notes before making anything, though. I’ve been disappointed a few times when making the original recipe without suggested modifications.

Interesting soup! Never eaten white beans before so didn’t know what to expect. I drained the beans but didn’t rinse, and added some onion and a small carrot. Next time, I’ll drain AND rinse the beans. I’d make this again and will continue to experiment with seasonings. To those who said this was grainy, perhaps leave the soup to simmer a few minutes longer. My soup was grainy initially but this went away as I kept blending and added a little more broth.

I soaked one and a half cups of alluvia Blanca beans from Rancho Gordo.

Use spices

I didn't like this soup. The garlic was really a lot, and I love garlic. Would maybe try again with others' suggestions of added spice blends. It was otherwise kind of bitter, so I added a tiny tiny bit of sugar. Would not recommend adding the beans without rinsing them first if you are at all sensitive to beans, digestion wise.

I took the advice of some others here: I drained and rinsed the beans; sautéed two anchovy fillets, parsley with the garlic once browned; added sumac, a Berbère spice mix, onion powder, a little oregano; used two cans of tomatoes and homemade broth. Added 2 tblsp of tomato paste. Put in 2 tblsps of unsalted butter at the end to cut the tartness. This soup is on the tart side, but we liked that with the saltiness combined. Blended and added more water to thin it out a bit when done. Delicious.

This was…not my favorite. The beans, even when blended smooth, lent an unpleasant graininess to it that eventually made me sieve the whole thing. Which I’m pretty sure negates any nutritional benefits to the beans. And then the garlic was fine, but nothing special flavor-wise. I think a tomato soup starting with a mirepoix and some tomato paste (and a lot of butter) is better overall!

I added 2 carrots and 2 stalks celery, and a tbsp of tomato paste per the recommendations, as well as cumin etc. I didn’t have cans of beans so cooked some dried beans then bc it seemed like more beans than 2 cans worth, I added 2 cans chopped tomatoes and 1 can Rotel tomatoes for a little kick. Delish

Made this last night and thought is was delicious. Was looking for a good basic tomato soup with good protein. Took other suggestions here to add a carrot and tomato paste and added a small shallot. Used whole San Marzano tomatoes, rinsed the beans, and added 2 cups of veggie broth. Will make again!

Okay, picture this: a soup so timid, it wouldn't even wave hello. A shadow of flavor, skulking through your taste buds like a sour-ish whisper. Yes, friends, we're talking about the epitome of culinary meh. Speed is its only virtue, any hint of real character is absent. Cheese, pesto, even basil leaves couldn't cover its blandness. This soup isn't bad, it's just... nothing. A culinary void. It's a 2 only because kiddos ate half of a bowl on a December night, and, let's face it - now we rest!

Used cooked from dried beans w liquid instead of canned and 1 T red pepper flakes. Top notch

I am excited to have this as a versatile, simple, and relatively quick soup in rotation. I added two shallots and oregano, and they provided further depth in the flavor profile. I look forward to making this soup again and playing around with different spice combinations.

Meh. Predominant flavor is pureed beans.

Made this as written, except I drained the bean liquid and added extra water. Was delicious with only the 3 ingredients! Didn’t have heavy cream, so just drizzled a bit more olive oil on top. I was surprised how many reviews said it was bland, I thought it was very flavorful - maybe key is using good tomatoes, I used San marzano canned tomatoes.

This was really wonderful. So simple and yet so tasty! I have now made it 2-3 times. I followed the comments in the notes and added paprika and red pepper flakes to the garlic as it was cooking. I used dried beans, not canned, so I added 2 cups of water instead of the liquid from the can. I also didn't add cream but a dollop of fresh ricotta. It's going to be a staple in my monthly legume rotation!

I followed the recipe and this is a solid, stable soup recipe to add to the winter rotation. You can make it just as the recipe says or you change it up a bit.